Super Bowl 1976

Following an owner’s meeting that was held in Scottsdale Arizona April 3, 1973, Super Bowl X was awarded to Miami and the Orange Bowl stadium.

Super Bowl X was played between the AFC’s Pittsburg Steelers and NFC’s Dallas Cowboys to decide which team would be crowned champions of the 1975 football season.

The Steelers emerged victorious over the Cowboys with a score of 21-17, securing their second Super Bowl win in two years.

Notable for:

• Super Bowl X was the first Super Bowl in which both teams had previously won the championship. While the Steelers were defending their title, the Dallas Cowboys had previously won Super Bowl VI.
• This was the first time the game clock was made visible to the players and spectators. At the end of 1976, the NFL mandated that play clocks were visible to everyone.

Both the Cowboys and the Steelers started the game with botched drives. However, the Cowboys were the first to score when quarter back Staubach successfully passed to Pearson on a 29-yard strike to score a touchdown and a seven-point lead.

The Steelers did not take it lying down and responded with four straight run plays, successfully rushing the ball down the field before Bradshaw passed to Randy Grossman for a touchdown. Following a field goal, Dallas had a 10-7 halftime lead.

Both teams failed to score in the third quarter. However, in the fourth quarter, the Steelers started to assert control and scored four consecutive times. Although Dallas clawed back some points following a 34-yard touchdown pass between Staubach and Howard, the Pittsburg Steelers successfully prevented them from scoring any further.

Lynn Swann was voted the MVP. This was particularly notable because the majority of sports writers had previously written Swann off because he was suffering from a head injury. By winning the MVP award, Swann well and truly proved everyone wrong.